Actress-turned-eco-warrior Lucy Lawless has been arrested with five Greenpeace activists after the group spent four days protesting aboard an oil-drilling ship docked in New Zealand.

Police on Monday removed the group from their perch atop a 174ft drilling tower on the Noble Discoverer in Port Taranaki.

Lawless and six activists climbed the tower early Friday in an attempt to raise awareness about oil drilling in the Arctic and prevent the ship from leaving.

One of the activists left the tower over the weekend. He was arrested and charged with unlawfully boarding a ship.

Police spokesman Kim Perks said Lawless and the other five activists would be processed on Monday at a local station where police would make any charging decisions.

Chartered by oil company Shell, the ship had been due to leave over the weekend for the Arctic to drill five exploratory wells.

Lawless, 43, a native New Zealander, is best known for her title role in the TV series 'Xena: Warrior Princess,' and more recently for starring in the Starz cable television series 'Spartacus'.

Lawless spoke to The Associated Press from atop the tower on Friday, where she said wind gusts were making it difficult for the group to stay put. She said she felt compelled to take a stand against oil-drilling in the Arctic and against global warming.

'I've got three kids. My sole biological reason for being on this planet is to ensure that they can flourish, and they can't do that in a filthy, degraded environment,' she said. 'We need to stand up while we still can.'